In cooperation with KAUE Faculty of Arts and Sciences and Ganja State University, an online panel on "Nizamî-i Gencevî ve Ahi Evran-ı Veli" was held at KAEU. Rector of KAEU Prof. Dr. Vatan Karakaya, Rector of Ganja State University Prof. Dr. Yusif Yusifov, Turkish Consul General of Ganja Dr. Zeki Öztürk, Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences Prof. Dr. Nadir İlhan, faculty members Prof. Dr. Fazıl Yozgat, Prof. Dr. Ahmet Doğan, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Cavid Bağırzade, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Siraceddin Haci and Vüsal İsgenderov, academics, and students participated in the panel held online on December 16, 2021, within the scope of the declaration of 2021 as the Year of Ahi Evran in Turkey and the Year of Nizamî-i Ganjavi in Azerbaijan.
Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences Prof. Dr. Nadir İlhan who made the opening speech of the panel, stated that values such as Nizamî-i Gencevî and Ahi Evran-ı Veli are of great value to them. Dean İlhan stated that they are concerned about keeping the works and ideas of these two scientists alive, who played very important roles in the construction of national identity and the Turkish-Islamic synthesis.
Ganja State University Rector Yusifov: “The Panel is a Great Opportunity to tell Us about Us”
Ganja State University Rector Prof. Dr. Yusif Yusifov told that the two great values of the Turkish world are a great opportunity to tell us about us, and he stated that the two scientists are among those who contibuted to civilization with their knowledge, ideas, and art. Expressing that they recently liberated their homeland from the Armenian occupation, Yusifov reminded that they received great support from Turkey at this point. Rector Yusifov pointed out that Ganjavi has a unique place in the history of world literature and emphasized that these two names are the guarantee and guide of our national unity and brotherhood.
Rector Karakaya: “We Are Two States with One Cultural Geography”
Rector Prof. Dr. Vatan Karakaya started his speech by stating that they express themselves with the slogan of 'two states, one nation' in this geography and said that they are actually two states with a single cultural geography. Karakaya stated that Nizamî-i Gencevî and Ahi Evran-ı Veli were historical figures who were raised in one place, nourished with the same source of information, and were able to put forward a method of raising people. Rector Karakaya, who evaluated that the sprouts to be given to the future will be stronger when the roots in the past are found, stated that in this sense, they teach the Ahi Culture and Ethics course in all departments in order to keep the legacy of Ahi Evran-ı Veli alive in the university.
Rector Karakaya: "We will learn the Methods of Reaching the Heart from the Teachings of Nizamî-i Gencevî and Ahi Evran-ı Veli"
Karakaya continued his speech as follows: “We will get the road maps from the teachings of Nizamî-i Gencevî and Ahi Evran-ı Veli to reach from the aridness of rationality to hearth. We will find human virtue and values and implement new human raising models. We will achieve this by transferring them with livable curricula and keeping them alive. We and our children will know our human values well so that we can tell the world properly. Let us enable humanity to benefit from their literary and spiritual light.”
Consul General Öztürk: "People and States have Come into the World and gone, but Cultural Values have Reached Today"
Speaking later, T.C. Consul General of Ganja Dr. Zeki Öztürk said that the common features of ancient civilizations and great states in history are to produce important values in the cultural dimension. Dr. Öztürk said, “People and states have come into the world and gone, but cultural values have survived to the present day. Just like the values left to us in the works of Nizâmî-i Gencevî, which the Azerbaijani lands presented to the world, and Ahi Evran-ı Veli, who is the gift of Anatolian lands to the world, it is our responsibility to own them, to keep their heritage alive and to pass it on to future generations.”
After the opening speeches, the panel ended with the presentations of Assoc. Dr. Cavid Bagırzade's "XI - XV. Akhism and Ahi Organizations in Azerbaijan for Centuries", Prof. Dr. Nadir İlhan's "Ahi-Order Values and Their Reflections on Yunus Emre and Aşık Paşa", Assoc. Dr. Siraceddin Haci's "Wealth Understanding in Nizami Gencev", Prof. Dr. Fazıl Yozgat's "Economic Fundamentals of Akhism", Vüsal İsgenderov's "Nizami Ganjavi and Ahilik" and Prof. Dr. It ended with Ahmet Doğan's presentations on "Ahi Evran and Ahilik in Turkish Literature".